How do you get started?

TLAM Strike · 05-19-10, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Molon Labe

It depends on the mission. You may need to worry about aircraft. You may need to get mission tasking. Hell, you may even need to worry about that last 10% of HPA. But, if you're overwhelmed with initial contacts, building SA quickly is priority #1, sonar is your best sensor, and sonar sucks at PD. It can wait a few minutes.

I would disagree ML that sonar is your best sensor, while it has range the 'scope is the best since it give you unambiguous data. One or two sweeps with the periscope and you can get a decent solution on all contacts 5-10 nms away depending on their size (IE large ships show up farther than small ones).

NFunky · 05-19-10, 09:46 AM

Thanks again for the help. I guess I've been too concerned with getting tracking started right away, but it sounds like knowing the sonar picture is more important.

Unfortunately, the periscope is the one aspect of the game I can't really use because of being visually impaired (extremely frustrating). I've been able to use it if I already know the bearing to look down and the contact is either really big (carrier, super tanker) or really close (like 3-4 nm). Basically, the target has to be about a centimeter tall before I can make it out and sweep-searching is way beyond me. Even on the Kilo, I find myself using sonar and ESM way more often than the scope.

NFunky · 05-26-10, 11:55 PM

Had to bring this thread back up cause I've been trying to apply what I've learned from you guys in the Chinese Takeout mission and have found an issue we haven't really addressed yet. I'm talking, of course, about not having enough trackers on one array to cover all the contacts I have. There are definately more than four contacts in this mission once you extend your towed array. One of them can be quickly isolated as a merchant (you start out with it loud on the sphere), but the rest are purely TA contacts. There are only helo radar emissions coming from the bearing of the initial MF active intercept contact and the passive mirrors just happen to be overlapping real contacts on the other side.

I can sort out the TA sonar picture after a single 90 degree turn, but I don't know which contacts to assign trackers to initially. Since I only have four, I have a hard time tracking all true TA contacts, let alone mirrors. Have any of you played this mission and have any suggestions as to how I should handle game-start?

Molon Labe · 05-27-10, 03:36 AM

Unless you have a tactical reason to value any of those 4+ tracks more than the others, I would just track the 4 you happen to have initially until you get a TMA solution, and then switch to the others until you have a solution on them.

Castout · 05-27-10, 06:37 AM

I just want to comment that being tedious is my only gripe about the sim. I hate it when the scenario started with many sound contacts.

DW in those cases feels more like a chore than gaming

More often than not I get lazy and just use an auto TMA crew. That helps a lot.

TLAM Strike · 05-27-10, 08:36 AM

if you are in a high contact environment rotate your trackers every 3 minutes or so until you locate a contact of interest. That way you have half a dot stack to work with rather than none on some and all on others.

If its a situation where there are many ships in a group assign trackers to all ending in the contacts you want to track so all contacts are available on the tma screen, then extrapolate the range and course from the contacts you are tracking. Check the sonar for the current bearing. Basically do TMA without the LOBs.

NFunky · 05-31-10, 02:35 AM

I like the idea of rotating trackers every few minutes, but since updates only come at two minute intervals, I find I have to leave a tracker on a contact for at least 8 mins (initial contact, plust 3 useable LOBs) in order to even get a 'half stack' TMA. I could do this, but with a single TMA leg (unless you have DEMON data), you really can't produce a solution. If I were to make multiple TMA legs though, I would end up spending a lot of time with those first four contacts because of the towed array's turn-delay and bearing error during said turns.

However, I think I really could handle all this except for the fact that I'd be having to do this TMA while cycling the sonar contacts. I guess I'm just not good enough at multitasking, but I have a hard time seeing how anyone can manage to keep track of the sonar picture and handle TMA at the same time with more than four contacts. It's really this challenge that's keeping me from succeding in the more contact rich scenarios.

Has anyone played 'Chinese Takeout'? It's not necessarily the most complex of missions, but it's a straight-up ASW tracking mission with numerous neutral and assumed-hostile surface traffic. I have never even gotten to the point where I can search for the sub cause I spend the entire mission tracking all the other contacts.

05-27-10, 03:36 AM	#4
Molon Labe Silent Hunter Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Along the Watchtower Posts: 3,810 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 5	Unless you have a tactical reason to value any of those 4+ tracks more than the others, I would just track the 4 you happen to have initially until you get a TMA solution, and then switch to the others until you have a solution on them. __________________

05-27-10, 06:37 AM	#5
Castout Silent Hunter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Jakarta Posts: 4,794 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 6	I just want to comment that being tedious is my only gripe about the sim. I hate it when the scenario started with many sound contacts. DW in those cases feels more like a chore than gaming More often than not I get lazy and just use an auto TMA crew. That helps a lot. __________________ My blog: http://exposingsingapore.wordpress.com/

05-27-10, 08:36 AM	#6
TLAM Strike Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Rochester, New York Posts: 8,633 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 6	if you are in a high contact environment rotate your trackers every 3 minutes or so until you locate a contact of interest. That way you have half a dot stack to work with rather than none on some and all on others. If its a situation where there are many ships in a group assign trackers to all ending in the contacts you want to track so all contacts are available on the tma screen, then extrapolate the range and course from the contacts you are tracking. Check the sonar for the current bearing. Basically do TMA without the LOBs. __________________

05-19-10, 09:46 AM	#2
NFunky Machinist's Mate Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 127 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	Thanks again for the help. I guess I've been too concerned with getting tracking started right away, but it sounds like knowing the sonar picture is more important. Unfortunately, the periscope is the one aspect of the game I can't really use because of being visually impaired (extremely frustrating). I've been able to use it if I already know the bearing to look down and the contact is either really big (carrier, super tanker) or really close (like 3-4 nm). Basically, the target has to be about a centimeter tall before I can make it out and sweep-searching is way beyond me. Even on the Kilo, I find myself using sonar and ESM way more often than the scope.

05-26-10, 11:55 PM	#3
NFunky Machinist's Mate Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 127 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	Had to bring this thread back up cause I've been trying to apply what I've learned from you guys in the Chinese Takeout mission and have found an issue we haven't really addressed yet. I'm talking, of course, about not having enough trackers on one array to cover all the contacts I have. There are definately more than four contacts in this mission once you extend your towed array. One of them can be quickly isolated as a merchant (you start out with it loud on the sphere), but the rest are purely TA contacts. There are only helo radar emissions coming from the bearing of the initial MF active intercept contact and the passive mirrors just happen to be overlapping real contacts on the other side. I can sort out the TA sonar picture after a single 90 degree turn, but I don't know which contacts to assign trackers to initially. Since I only have four, I have a hard time tracking all true TA contacts, let alone mirrors. Have any of you played this mission and have any suggestions as to how I should handle game-start?

05-31-10, 02:35 AM	#7
NFunky Machinist's Mate Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 127 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	I like the idea of rotating trackers every few minutes, but since updates only come at two minute intervals, I find I have to leave a tracker on a contact for at least 8 mins (initial contact, plust 3 useable LOBs) in order to even get a 'half stack' TMA. I could do this, but with a single TMA leg (unless you have DEMON data), you really can't produce a solution. If I were to make multiple TMA legs though, I would end up spending a lot of time with those first four contacts because of the towed array's turn-delay and bearing error during said turns. However, I think I really could handle all this except for the fact that I'd be having to do this TMA while cycling the sonar contacts. I guess I'm just not good enough at multitasking, but I have a hard time seeing how anyone can manage to keep track of the sonar picture and handle TMA at the same time with more than four contacts. It's really this challenge that's keeping me from succeding in the more contact rich scenarios. Has anyone played 'Chinese Takeout'? It's not necessarily the most complex of missions, but it's a straight-up ASW tracking mission with numerous neutral and assumed-hostile surface traffic. I have never even gotten to the point where I can search for the sub cause I spend the entire mission tracking all the other contacts.